


Second Chances

by kmoaton



Series: Bingo Fills [1]
Category: Eureka
Genre: Angst, M/M, New Relationship, Pandemics, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 08:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmoaton/pseuds/kmoaton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nathan hated that General Mansfield wanted to make biological weapons at Global.  When the virus escapes, all hell breaks loose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Written for HC Bingo. Prompt used Pandemic/Epidemic. Will be posted to that community once I've completed the fill.

It spread with terrifying quickness through Eureka. It was an Ebola-like with fever, vomiting, and pain. Those who made it three days with no bleeding would survive but it was a painful road to recovery. Those who began to bleed were doomed unless they were treated with a cure, which didn’t exist. Nathan wanted curse Dr. Barbour but she was the first victim of her creation. Nathan was frustrated because Dr. Barbour had broken so many epidemiology protocols, the first one being the vaccine has to be created as the same time as the viral weapon. He had never approved of GD's involvement in biological warfare but Mansfield never needed his approval to get things done. So far, the virus had been contained to a small portion of Eureka and the 20 people who were ill were currently confined to the isolation ward. Only four people had dies so far, all of them having worked in the lab where the virus was accidently released. Every scientist was working day and night on constructing a vaccine but most of Dr. Barbour’s notes was illegible. She had written them in strange shorthand and they all struggled to decipher the meanings. Nathan wanted to throw things but he didn't have the luxury of time for a tantrum. 

The sound of the sliding lab door caught his attention. Expecting it to be Jack, he slightly surprised to see Allison hurry into the room. He could immediately sense that she was worried. 

"What's wrong now? I don't know how much more I can handle after untangling this mess of Dr. Barbour's."

Allison shook her head and to Nathan's surprise, her eyes filled with tears. "Nathan, its Jack."

Nathan felt his heart stop in his chest. "Jack? What happened to Jack?"

Pacing the tiny lab, Allison explained. "One of the patients in isolation was suffering from hallucinations. Somehow, he overpowered the doctors and broke free. Jack was in the outside area and grabbed the patient. He bit Jack and broke the skin. The virus was transmitted through the bite."

Nathan stood up “Where is he?"

"He's in Iso3." As Nathan brushed past her, Allison struggled to keep up with his long stride. "We don't know how bad it will be, Nathan. He may be one of the lucky ones."

Nathan refused to dwell on anything but Jack. He wasn’t ready to imagine life without him. Things between him and Jack were still new. It had taken months before they acknowledged the attraction between them and several more months before they would accept it was more than an attraction. They were still “dating” (Zoe’s description) but both had been burned in relationships before and neither wanted to ruin the developing relationship that was growing between them. Now, faced with the very real prospect of Jack dying, Nathan couldn’t help but wonder if they should have thrown caution in the wind and lived.

ooOOoo

Nathan was stunned to see Jack lying still in the hospital bed. Seeing Jack, who was full of life and boundless energy, lying there unmoving, shook Nathan to the core of his being. The doctors in the room with him were dressed in isolation gear and Nathan watched as they drew blood and checked vitals. He could feel Allison standing beside him. 

"He's sedated at the moment. After the bite, he went into a full panic and we had to calm him down. He'll be out until the morning."

Nathan continued to watch through the glass. "Has anyone told Zoe?"

Allison shook her head. "No. I wanted to go over and tell her in person. You shouldn’t hear something like this in a phone call."

Nathan agreed with Allison. He knew Zoe well enough that she would want to hear it face to face. Letting out a shaky sigh, Nathan rubbed his face. Allison patted his arm.

“Jack’s going to be ok. We are close to a cure. We only need a week now.”

Continuing to watch Jack through the glass, Nathan could only sigh. He knew the truth. Jack may not have a week to wait for them.

Several days passed with no change in Jack. Several new cases sprung up in town, causing panic among the citizens. Jo was doing her best to help maintain order but as more and more people became ill, everyone knew that Eureka was going to fall apart.

Nathan spent the majority of those days in his lab, pouring over notes and running experiment after experiment. He could see there was one thing they were missing but he couldn’t put his hands on it. Currently he was running on adrenaline, coffee and a few hours of sleep. The cot in the corner of the room was looking so inviting but Nathan didn’t want to lose time to something trivial like sleep. Checking the clock, he noticed it was 5:30 a.m. Soon Allison would be there and nag him into getting at least an hour or two of sleep. Until then, he would continue working, searching for that one elusive piece.

At seven on the dot, Allison came through the door, bearing a large vinspresso. Nathan barely contained a groan as he took a sip of the warm beverage. Allison shook her head at her scruffy looking ex. She could see the lines of worry etched in his face and he hadn’t shaved in days. She knew he wasn’t sleeping except the times she came in and insisted he lay down for a few hours.

“You know what I’m going to say, so why do we go through this every day?”

Nathan gave a tired smile. “Because it’s the sunshine of your day. I’d hate to be the one to deprive you of the pleasure.”

Smiling, Allison pointed to the cot. “Ha, Ha. Hit the cot, mister. Your computer will keep working and I’ll wake you if anything changes with Jack.”

Accepting defeat, Nathan stretched his tall frame on the cot, quickly falling into a deep sleep. His dreams were plagued with images of Jack smiling morphing into Jack lying pale and motionless in the hospital bed. Viruses danced around the edges of his consciousness, taunting him by being out of reach. A loud piercing sound only added to the chaos of the mental torment. After a few minutes, Nathan realized the sound was coming from his computer and jumped straight out of bed. Quickly reading the information, Nathan let out a whoop of joy. They had finally found the missing RNA particles in the virus that was needed for the cure. Picking up the phone, he called for Fargo and emailed the information to the other researchers. It would take at least 24 hours to construct the cure but they were finally making headway.

Nathan didn’t look up as the lab door slid open. Assuming it was Fargo, he began barking orders while jotting down information. 

“Fargo, I need to make sure all labs are stocked with adenoviral vectors. The researchers will need them to block the virus from developing further.”

When his request was met with silence, Nathan looked up, ready to berate his timid assistant. Instead, he faced Allison, her eyes filled with fear and worry.

“Jack.” Nathan could only whisper. He moved out of the lab, Allison falling in step beside him, telling him what was going on with Jack

“He started bleeding. We are trying to keep him stable with coagulation factors to try to stop the bleeding. We have him on convalescent plasma from survivors to see if that helps. We had to wake him up in assess how he feels. He’s in pain, Nathan, serious pain. He’s been asking for you and Zoe.”

Entering the decontamination dressing room, Nathan slide into the protective gear and made his way into the room. Jack was writhing with pain, his eyes bloodshot red from the burst capillaries. The nurse was adding meds to his I.V. and Nathan’s heart squeezed as he heard Jack groan. He only had a few minutes alone with Jack because Allison had asked Jo to pick up Zoe from the bunker. 

Jack gave a weak smile when he saw Nathan. “Hey, space scientist.”

Nathan smiled in return. His voice sounded tinny and strange to his ears as he spoke through the voice box in the suit. “How are you?”

Groaning, Jack closed his eyes as a wave of pain moved through him. “I’ve been better. I think I really screwed the pooch on this one, Nathan.”

Shaking his head, Nathan’s gloved hand grabbed Jack fevered hand. “Don’t say that. We are working on the cure. It should be ready by this time tomorrow.”

“I might not have until tomorrow. You know that Nathan.” Jack sighed. The pain was close to unbearable but it was important to talk to Nathan and to Zoe before they sedated him again. His biggest fear was that he wouldn’t wake up but the pain made it impossible to refuse the strong medications. 

“If anything happens to me, talk to Abby and if Zoe wants to stay in Eureka, convince Abby it’ll be alright. Promise me you’ll keep in touch with Zoe. She’ll need you.”

Nathan‘s throat closed. “Jack…” he weakly began. 

“Promise me, Nathan!” Jack said again.

A whisper escaped Nathan’s throat. “I promise, Jack. Anything you want.”

Nathan could see Jack visibly relax. “Thank you.”

They were both silent lost in their own thoughts. Nathan realized that he needed to say what was on his mind, it was now or possibly never. 

“I’m glad you decided to give us a chance.” 

“It wasn’t rocket science.” Jack joked. “I’m just glad I had a chance to know how you felt.”

Nathan hated having this conversation and tried to change the direction. “I want you to promise me something.”

Jack softly smiled. “Anything.”

“Promise me you won’t give up and stop fighting until I finish this cure. We have so many things we need to explore with each other.”

As the door opened and Zoe entered the room, Jack took a longing look at his daughter and returning his gaze to Nathan, he gave the scientist look that spoke of his determination. 

“I promise.”

ooOOoo

Nathan had no idea when the sun rose. He stayed with Jack after Zoe left until the meds kicked in and Jack was once again sleep. He returned to his lab and along with the other scientists, slaved over the data and in the lab to rush the creation of the cure. One of the sick patients took a turn for the worse during the night and it only fueled those who were working to save them. Nathan refused to let another person die on his watch. 

Right on schedule, Allison walked in with coffee. Before he could ask, Allison gave him a report. 

“Dr. Sayles is resting and we’ve slowed his bleeding for the time being. Jack had a nosebleed during the night but no other signs of bleeding. It seems the plasma helps to hold off the worst of the symptoms. “

Nathan nodded, taking a big sip of the coffee. “The antidote should be ready within the hour. Everyone worked all night.”

“I don’t suppose there’s a chance I can get you to lay down for a little while. You look like hell.”

Giving a dry chuckle, Nathan took another swig of his coffee. “Not a chance. I can sleep when this is over.”

ooOOoo

Nathan could only watch through the window of the isolation room as the techs hooked up the iv drip with the antidote to Jack’s fluid bag. He was vaguely aware of an anxious Zoe standing beside him, watching her father with worried eyes. He was praying the antidote worked but most of the patients weren’t as far gone as Jack. None of the other patients, with the exception, of Dr. Sayles and Jack, exhibited any signs of bleeding and were still alive. Allison expressed concern over the reaction they might have to the antidote but there was no time to do long term testing. If the antidote failed, Jack would die. 

Nathan let go of the breath he was holding as the techs left the room and moved to the next patient’s room. He was about to turn and offer to walk Zoe to the cafeteria for a drink when he saw Jack’s chest heave and a gush of blood came out of his mouth. His heart froze as at the same moment, the monitoring alarm went off and as the techs rushed back into the room, Nathan had to grab Zoe to keep her from rushing in the room. He watched through the window as he struggled to hold on to the fighting girl. 

“Dad! Let me go! I want my dad!” Zoe screamed, tears streaming down her face. Nathan pulled the sobbing girl to his chest, shielding her from seeing the commotion in the room. He felt helpless as he continued to watch everything unfold.

Allison heard the alarms go off and rush into the room. With a last sorrowful glance at Nathan and Zoe, Allison pulled the curtain closed across the isolation room window blocking the scene from the distraught watchers. She had been afraid of this type of reaction when Jack received the antidote. The components of the antidote would be fighting the virus and as they frantically worked on Jack to stem the bleeding, Allison feared it would be a losing battle. 

ooOOoo

Hours passed before Nathan heard any word on Jack. Jo came for Zoe and took her home. Henry finally convinced Nathan to lie down in his office since he refused to leave GD. He didn’t expect to fall asleep but exhaustion and worry had him out like a light. His dreams were the color of blood and he could still hear Zoe’s cries. He tried to reach Jack but it seemed as if he was just out of Nathan’s reach. 

Startling himself awake, Nathan was confused for a moment as his brain struggled to catch up. Looking at the clock on the wall, he cursed as he realized he had been sleep over 5 hours. Ignoring his dishevel state, he barged out of his office and straight into Allison. 

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

Allison’s eyes raked over his bedraggled form. “It’s obvious you needed the rest.”

Nathan shook his still foggy head. “Jack…”

“Jack is resting. It was touch and go for a while but he is resting. We think the antidote is working but we won’t be 100 percent sure until morning.” Allison responded.

Nathan moved to go past Allison but she placed a hand on his arm. “You need to go home, Nathan. You are no good to him like this. Get something to eat, shower and sleep. He’ll need you in the morning.”

For a moment, he wanted to argue but Nathan realized Allison was right. With a nod, he moved past her and headed home. 

ooOOoo

He would have never admitted it to anyone but the orders by Allison left him more clearheaded as he made his way to the infirmary. Stepping into the observation room, he saw that Henry was already there. Acknowledging Nathan’s presence, Henry launched into an briefing. 

“It seems the antidote is working. They been taking blood samples and the amount of virus is reducing in his blood. Because he had started bleeding before it had been given, his body fought harder. It’ll be another day before the doctors will let him wake up. They want his body to focus solely on fighting the virus and you know that’s best with him sedated. “

Taking in the relieved face of his mentee and friend, Henry smiled. “Jack is going to be fine. You know he’s a fighter.”

Giving a relieved sigh, Nathan moved over to the window where he could see Jack lying in the bed.

“I know, Henry. Has anyone talked with Zoe this morning?”

“I called Jo and told her. I would have called you but Allison gave me orders to let you get some sleep.” Henry replied, looking rather sheepish. 

Nathan laughed quietly. “It’s alright, Henry. She was the one who gave me orders to go home and go to bed.” 

The door opened and Allison walked in. Hearing the last part of the conversation, she chimed in. “That’s right and you look much better for it. Since I know Henry updated you, I guess both of you need to know what we can expect from here on out.”

Taking a seat, both men listened intently as Allison outlined Jack’s aftercare. There would be at least two weeks of bed rest and then physical therapy to help him regain his strength.

“He is going to be weak for a while and he will need the help.”

Nathan shook his head. “You know we’ll have a fight on our hands.”

Henry sighed as well. “I know. Jack is as stubborn as you.”

Allison laughed and Nathan snarled at his friend. Allison then continued. “He’ll be off work for a month then he can return to light desk duty. No answering calls to GD, no redacting scientists, nothing but paperwork. I don’t think the virus can cause a relapse but until he is back to his full strength, I don’t want him to take any chances.”

“When he be allowed to go home?” Henry asked. 

“We are going to let the meds wear off so he should wake up this afternoon. I want to monitor him at least another 24 hours so it’ll be sometime late tomorrow before he can go home.” Allison replied. Standing, she smoothed her skirt. “Now, you two move on. I’ll call you when he wakes up.”

ooOOoo  
The first faces Jack saw when he finally woke up was Zoe and Nathan. Zoe gingerly hugged him and promptly lay in the bed beside him. Smiling, Jack enjoyed this rare moment of Zoe being his little girl. He knew once things got back to normal, she’d go back to being typical teenager Zoe. 

Nathan smiled at the sight in front of him. He almost wished he could be Zoe but his being in bed with Jack involved a lot more than just hugging him. He knew later he and Jack would seriously talk but now he was just eternally grateful that they had a second chance to move forward.


End file.
